MORE than 300 of the world's leading marine scientists and field experts have backed an anti-shark cull submission to the state EPA's review into WA's drumlines trial.
In just 10 days, leading University of WA marine scientist Jessica Meeuwig obtained written backing from 200 senior PhD scientists and 100 marine experts working in the field to compile the letter of expert concern.
Professor Meeuwig, who is the director of UWA's Centre for Marine Futures, said the signatories' key message to the EPA was that no evidence existed to prove drumlines made the water safer.
"Knowledge is power and here we are actually killing the subjects of safety research," she said.
"To have that many scientists express that opinion with such clarity is hugely significant. We need to know where the sharks are, when and how long they stay there. We can't tag sharks if they're on the end of a drumline."
Following last summer's trial of the lethal drumlines which included South West beaches where fatal attacks have occurred the WA government is proposing a three-year seasonal program deploying 72 drumlines along the WA coastline. The cull would target 900 tiger sharks and 25 white sharks each year.
Submissions to the EPA closed this week.